Antiterrorist squad in Caucasus destroys local senior militant

There are no victims among the population or policemen

Share

1 pages in this article

MOSCOW, October 19 (Itar-Tass) — A senior local militant who commanded a ‘specialized battalion’ charged with killings of police officers was destroyed Friday night in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasian region of Dagestan, a spokesman for the International Antiterrorist Committee told Itar-Tass.

Positioning of two members of the so-called Makhachkala criminal grouping, which has been involved in numerous crimes, was identified earlier in the day.

“As the policemen were trying to detain and search two suspects near 5, Gamidov Prospekt Avenue at around 18:30, they encountered active armed resistance,” the spokesman said. “The two militants were eliminated in an exchange of fire that ensued.”

As shown by the results of preliminary identification, one of the two men, Artur Magomedov born in 1986 and known among the militants under the nickname Halid, is a commander of the so-called specialized battalion was engaged in killing the officers of law enforcement agencies.

His brother Ayub, who was also a member of the same grouping, received lethal wounds in a clash with Federal Forces in North Caucasus in 2010.

The second man has been provisionally identified as Alfred Zagirov, born 1990. He started out by assisting the militants and joined their ranks later.

Two handguns of the TT brand were found at the site of the special operation.

“There are no victims among the population or policemen,” the spokesman said.